The Mystery of God’s Will Unfolding in this Matrix 2 continued...

Tony Bristow-Stagg

Tony Bristow-Stagg

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muhammad_isa said:
Was it ever, when it comes to human affairs? :(
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Yes, I see a great deal of calamity can still and could have been averted.

There is a fair bit given on this aspect of how Faith interacts with our Material Reality.

We were even told, had the Baha'i dispersed to all Nations in greater numbers, when requested to do so, it would have helped prevent the calamities to come.

In the 1950's Shoghi Effendi offered that the rime had passed for a smoother transition from the Old World Order to the New World Order, that increasing waves of calamity would now visit us, until there would suddenly appear something that will cause the limbs of mankind to quake.

Regards Tony
 
Niblo said:
In what way?
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I would have to find the quotes I was thinking of, but Dr. J.E. Esslemont in his book Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era has said;

"According to the teaching of the Prophets, disease and all other forms of calamity are due to disobedience to the Divine Commands. Even disasters due to floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes are attributed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá indirectly to this cause. The suffering that follows error is not vindictive, however, but educative and remedial. It is God's Voice proclaiming to man that he has strayed from the right path. If the suffering is terrible, it is only because the danger of wrongdoing is more terrible, for "the wages of sin is death." Just as calamity is due to disobedience, so deliverance from calamity can be obtained only be obedience. There is no chance or uncertainty about the matter. Turning from God inevitably brings disaster, and turning to God as inevitably brings blessing..."

Thus obedience to the Covernant by the Baha'i would have spread the remedy in a more rapid manner, lessening the calamities.

We are unaware of how our thoughts and actions reverberate through all the worlds of God.

See if I can find the verses my mind had recalled.

Regards Tony
 
Niblo said:
In what way?
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I found the passage I remembered, it does not give detail as in in what way.

425. If Bahá’ís Fail They Are Partly Responsible for Agony of Mankind​

"There is so much suffering, such a great and desperate need for a true remedy and the Bahá’ís should realize their sacred obligation is to deliver the Message to their fellowmen at once, and on as large a scale as possible. If they fail to do so, they are really partly responsible for prolonging the agony of humanity."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, December 18, 1943)

There is numerous quotes about the crisis and calamity that is approaching.

Lights of Guidance/Calamities and Crisis - Bahaiworks, a library of works about the Bahá’í Faith

bahai.works bahai.works

There is one about mitigation.

431. Bahá’ís Can Help to Mitigate Suffering of Mankind​

"No doubt to the degree we Bahá’ís the world over … strive to spread the Cause and live up to its teachings, there will be some mitigation to the suffering of the peoples of the world. But it seems apparent that the great failure to respond to Bahá’u’lláh's instructions, appeals and warnings issued in the 19th Century, has now sent the world along a path, and released forces, which must culminate in a still more violent upheaval and agony. The thing is out of hand, so to speak, and it is too late to avert catastrophic trials."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, January 8, 1949)

Regards Tony
 
Tony Bristow-Stagg said:
Thus obedience to the Covernant by the Baha'i would have spread the remedy in a more rapid manner, lessening the calamities.
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Does this mean that those Baha'i who are truly obedient to the Covenant never suffer any form of calamity... disease and such, that result from natural causes, as opposed to the deliberate action of others?
 
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Peace in my own heart, regardless of suffering, is the true gift of Christ, imo
 
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Tony Bristow-Stagg said:
It is indeed a great gift. A gift people of all Faiths strive for.
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Strive?

Don't talk to me, just touch my face
Love me before you love the human race
By words I'm trying to reach, not teach, you ...
 
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Niblo said:
Does this mean that those Baha'i who are truly obedient to the Covenant never suffer any form of calamity... disease and such, that result from natural causes, as opposed to the deliberate action of others?
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Shoghi Effendi has als provided the answers to thay question Niblo.

"In such a process of purgation, when all humanity is in the throes of dire suffering, the Bahá’ís should not hope to remain unaffected. Should we consider the beam that is in our own eye, we would immediately find that these sufferings are also meant for ourselves, who claimed to have attained. Such world crisis is necessary to awaken us to the importance of our duty and the carrying on of our task. Suffering will increase our energy in setting before humanity the road to salvation, it will move us from our repose for we are far from doing our best in teaching the Cause and conveying the Message with which we have been entrusted…."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer in reply to a letter dated October 14, 1931: Bahá’í News, No. 58, January 1932, p. 1)

This answer is how I approach life, I see we, as the human race, are an organic unit.

"… When such a crisis sweeps over the world no person should hope to remain intact. We belong to an organic unit and when one part of the organism suffers all the rest of the body will feel its consequence. This is in fact the reason why Bahá’u’lláh calls our attention to the unity of mankind. But as Bahá’ís we should not let such hardship weaken our hope in the future…."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a Bahá’í family, April 14, 1932)

When the body of humanity is sick, it needs the divine elixir and Baha'u'llah offered.

"The All-Knowing Physician hath His finger on the pulse of mankind. He perceiveth the disease, and prescribeth, in His unerring wisdom, the remedy. Every age hath its own problem, and every soul its particular aspiration."

@RJM provided a good answer, which I see lays in submission unto God.

Regards Tony
 
RJM said:
Strive?

Don't talk to me, just touch my face
Love me before you love the human race
By words I'm trying to reach, not teach, you ...
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Yes strive seems appropriate to me, there is a wonderful song I love listening to that is put together from this quote from Abdul'baha.

"Therefore strive that your actions day by day may be beautiful prayers. Turn towards God, and seek always to do that which is right and noble. Enrich the poor, raise the fallen, comfort the sorrowful, bring healing to the sick, reassure the fearful, rescue the oppressed, bring hope to the hopeless, shelter the destitute! This is the work of a true Bahá’í, and this is what is expected of him. If we strive to do all this, then are we true Bahá’ís, but if we neglect it, we are not followers of the Light, and we have no right to the name. God, who sees all hearts, knows how far our lives are the fulfilment of our words." ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 80

I think you would enjoy the song, it is a great melody.


Regards Tony
 
Tony Bristow-Stagg said:
"Therefore strive that your actions day by day may be beautiful prayers. Turn towards God, and seek always to do that which is right and noble. Enrich the poor, raise the fallen, comfort the sorrowful, bring healing to the sick, reassure the fearful, rescue the oppressed, bring hope to the hopeless, shelter the destitute! This is the work of a true Bahá’í, and this is what is expected of him. If we strive to do all this, then are we true Bahá’ís, but if we neglect it, we are not followers of the Light, and we have no right to the name. God, who sees all hearts, knows how far our lives are the fulfilment of our words." ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 80
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Thanks Tony

It reminds me of the Prayer of St Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
 
I found an interesting statement made by the Universal House of Justice. It is worth meditating upon.

As the civil unrest continues, ultimately involving all the Nations on earth in wars, either by participation or suppport, and the natural disasters increase in both numbers and intensity, this snippet from a Message answers a quandary many that are not Baha'i make about the numbers of adherents to this Faith.

Extracts From Letters Written By The Universal House Of Justice:

"......It should not be surmised that the events which have taken place in all corners of the globe, including the sacred land of Iran, have occurred as isolated incidents without any aim and purpose. According to the words of our beloved Guardian, "The invisible hand is at work and the convulsions taking place on earth are a prelude to the proclamation of the Cause of God". This is but one of the mysterious forces of this supreme Revelation which is causing the limbs of mankind to quake and those who are drunk with pride and negligence to be thunderstruck and shaken...."

All this must happen as a "prelude to the proclamation of the Cause of God".

The Faith will not be embraced until humanity has faced what is currently unfolding and will eventually beat humamity into submission unto God.

The amount of writings that can be produced warning us of this impending catastrophic crisis are numerous, but still, no one wants to hear and heed those warnings? The perplexity is great.

Regards Tony
 
I always try to balance this –

The Black Death that struck Europe in the 14th century was far more devastating than any outbreak in recent history – it's reckoned a third of the population of Europe was killed. They thought it was the end of the world then ...

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My own outlook is bleak, however.

What saddens me the most is it's clear that people are generally in favour of 'protecting the environment' as long as it does not impact on them. When it does, they complain.

Hence governments are loathe to tackle the real and necessary issues because they know it'll be unpopular – a clear example is our Prime Minister is desperately trying to make himself and his party popular on the cheap by appeal to populist anti-environmental measures.

Of course, those who complain now will also complain then when we cross the tipping point.

So it goes ...
 
Thomas said:
I always try to balance this –

The Black Death that struck Europe in the 14th century was far more devastating than any outbreak in recent history – it's reckoned a third of the population of Europe was killed. They thought it was the end of the world then ...
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It was an age when biblical cleanliness was neglected.

2 Corinthians 7:1 "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

The whole structure of this matrix is built upon the Word of God and our submission unto it.

Regards Tony
 
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